Buying? Don't Fret

The Top Five Collectible Guitars

Jason Alden for The Wall Street Journal

COLLECTING GUITARS IS a bit like buying a piece of art. If you have to choose between one of Van Gogh's lesser works or an extraordinary painting by an unknown artist, "you're still going to buy the Van Gogh because of its name," says Brian Rowe, owner of Wunjo Guitars in London.

But just as in the art world, there are a lot of fakes out there, warns Ash Gupta, a longtime collector of vintage guitars. "If you're not wary, you can pay £60,000 for a guitar that's worth £3,000 because it looks and sounds the part," he says.

If you're serious about building a collection, look for guitars made before 1965, the year Leo Fender sold his business to Columbia Broadcasting Systems and guitars started to be mass-produced. "The guitars got heavier and people didn't rate them," says Mr. Gupta. "But these guitars were played by people like Jimi Hendrix and he made the most fantastic sound. A true collector will concentrate on pre-1965, pre-CBS."

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